Taming A Demon's Heart

~Deadline~

The world around Lucy froze. There was a deadline?!
"I was never told of a deadline, therefore, you can not take him." Lucy demanded.
"We are not required to tell you. If you've done your job correctly, he should be reformed by now, so we are going to test him today." The councilman said firmly. "Now, hand over the demon, ma'am." They commanded firmly.
"Jackal!" Lucy called, the demon walking over to her. "They're taking you to see if you've been successfully reformed." She said. "I believe in you. I'll be right there with you the whole time." Lucy promised.
"Sorry, Miss, you can't come." The councilman's assistant interrupted. "We have to test the demon on his ability to be a good citizen without his caretaker with him."
The sickening feeling came back as Jackal was chained and dragged to the Magic Council Headquarters. Lucy anxiously paced her home, waiting for Jackal's return.
At the hall, Jackal was tossed into a room where a council worker was standing. His test was about to begin. His legs trembled as he recalled every manner lesson Lucy had thrown at him.
"Hello, sir." Jackal introduced, holding out his hand for a handshake.
Without taking his kind gesture, the worker smirked.
"I bet you and that blonde had so much fun together, huh?" He sneered, his deformed lips upturned in a nasty grin. "I bet you two were all over eachother, that slut can't even keep her damn clothes on, well I suppose that was nice for you?" He continued to blatantly insult Lucy, throwing out magazines with the blonde mage almost nude on the cover.
"That was just her job. She doesn't do it anymore." Jackal said through clenched teeth. He had to pass this test.
"Of course she doesn't because now she has a boy toy like you. Well, had, anyway." The worker continued to throw perverted lies and insults right into Jackal's face, even spitting on him.
"Actually, we are just roommates." Jackal insisted, anger bubbling up inside of him.
"You know, I bet you thought she liked you? Enjoyed having you around? Well, get a reality check. You will always be scum. Not only to the kingdom of Fiore but even to a slutty piece of trash like Lucy Heartfilia." The worker wore a twisted smirk, his bushy eyebrows practically touching. Jackal recalled Lamy's similar words, and that was the last straw. He couldn't use his curse magic in the reinforced cell, but he was going to beat the man senseless.
His fists were bloody and bruised from hitting the council worker's hard helmet, and by the time the other workers restrained the raging demon, the beaten council employee took off his helmet and called to Jackal.
"What a shame. You almost made it." He taunted, leaving the cell room virtually unharmed.
Jackal's heart shattered as he was blindfolded and prodded, being forced to walk down the grand hallways unable to see. He heard the sickening groan of a door and began to smell the familiar musk of the top secret prison. The guards carelessly threw him into the cell after removing his blindfold and locked the door. He screamed in anguish, letting tears fall from his face. Despite his trembling state, he refused to acknowledge that he would never see Lucy again. He convinced himself that she'd move on in a matter of moments.
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      "Ma'am, I am sorry to inform you that your demon has failed the test. He attacked the test proctor with no reason at all. He is now back in his cell, and will be executed in a few months." The councilman told Lucy after returning to her home to deliver the news. He turned and left her porch without waiting for a response. Lucy was at a loss for words, she slammed the door and fell to her knees, tears staining her pale face. Feeling weak, she forced herself up after hours of crying. She refused to believe that Jackal would just attack someone. He was genuinely really kind after she had reformed him and he learned very quickly. Lucy dried her tears and wrote a letter to her dear friend Levy.
The letter read:
Dear Levy,
As you know, you and Gajeel put me in charge of Jackal and I wanted to let you know that he was taken back by the council and they won't let me speak to him! I really could use your help. I just know that he wouldn't be so violent unprovoked. If we don't hurry... They'll kill him!
Lucy sealed the letter and sent it directly to her friend. Now she had to wait.
        The following three days passed by slowly, Lucy had not gone to work, only staring at the mailbox intently. She hadn't slept since Jackal was put into jail, fueled only by rage and caffeine.
      On the fourth day, the mailman finally brought what Lucy was waiting for. She opened the door right as the shocked mailman was about to knock. Hastily, she received the mail, her tired feeling gone. She spotted Levy's wax crest and ripped open the envelope.
The letter read:
Dear Lu-chan,
I heard! Sorry this reply is late! I was digging around myself, so I could make sure you were right and I think we should investigate! Come to HQ tomorrow at 3:00 PM.

With her nerves appeased, Lucy finally got the well deserved sleep her body desperately needed.
Lucy woke up the next day well after 1:00.
"Oh my gosh," She gasped, looking at the time. " I'm going to be late!" Lucy leapt out of her bed and took the quickest shower humanely possible. By the time she was ready, it was 2:30. She left the house in a rush, slamming the door behind her.
Lucy jogged to the hall, stopping to catch her breath. The clock bell rang three times; it was exactly 3:00. Levy opened the door and invited Lucy inside. The grand hall no longer excited her, the marble hallways emanating a bittersweet feeling. She crossed familiar halls, the same paths she walked when she first took Jackal home. Anticipation bubbled up inside of Lucy's throat, spilling over in a strange choking noise as she held back tears.
"Here we are!" Levy exclaimed. She pushed the button on the Chairman's leather throne, causing the massive hidden door to creak and groan as it opened. The further down they ventured, the darker it got. Lucy's heartbeat matched their increasingly fast footsteps as the two came to a halt in front of Jackal's cell. To Lucy's horror, her demon companion was gone.

Hehehehe
We're almost at the climax of the story :)
As always,
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